c/bullet-journaling

Lost my whole weekly spread when my pen leaked during a meeting at the library

I sat down at the downtown library to plan out my week, and halfway through my Wednesday column my cheap gel pen just exploded right on the page, has anyone else had a pen disaster ruin their whole bujo layout?

That tip about using a highlighter for future tasks actually works

A guy on here told me to try highlighting future tasks in a different color so they stand out from weekly stuff. I thought it would just make a mess, but I tried it last month with a yellow highlighter. Turns out I was missing about half my future tasks before because they blended in with the weekly log. Now I flip ahead and see them immediately, and I haven't missed a single deadline since. Has anyone else found a simple trick like this that fixed a big problem?

Just wasted $60 on those "minimalist" stencils from Instagram

Bought a pack of 5 stencil sets for my bullet journal layout headers. Looked cool in the ads but they smudged ink on 3 of my spreads and the alignment was off by 2mm every time. Anyone else toss money at bad journal supplies?

Spent $35 on a midori notebook and it lasted me only 3 months

I figured the thicker paper would hold up to my heavy ink use (mostly fountain pens) but the binding started falling apart around week 10. The cotton threads just gave out while I was flipping through my May spread. Has anyone else had luck with a specific brand that actually lasts a full year?

Can we talk about how messy my monthly spread got

Friend looked at my bullet journal last week and said it looked like a Jackson Pollock painting. She pointed out I was cramming 30 task items into a tiny box with no room for notes. I switched to a rolling weekly format and now I actually use the thing. Anyone else get called out for overcomplicating their layouts?

Did a 3-month migration test and my spreads got 40% worse

I saw a post on the bujo sub last week about someone tracking their habit streaks for 90 days. I figured hey, I'll give it a shot. So I migrated all my monthly logs into a fresh notebook and started fresh. By week 6, my layout was a mess. I was forgetting to fill in half the boxes. Found out yesterday that my completion rate dropped from like 70% to 30%. I guess switching notebooks mid-year threw off my groove. Has anyone else seen a dip after migrating to a new journal?

I finally tried using a color key in my bullet journal last month

Went to a stationary shop in Portland and saw a display of journals with these neat color coded monthly logs. I gave it a shot with just 4 colors for work, health, social, and finance and it actually made scanning my week way faster. Anyone else find a system that clicks after years of plain black ink?

TIL my habit tracker wasn't tracking anything useful for 8 months

I started bullet journaling back in January to keep up with exercise and reading goals. Every day I'd fill in a little box for 'worked out' or 'read 20 pages' without really thinking about it. Last week I flipped back and realized I was just coloring boxes without actually changing my habits. Idk why it took me that long to notice I was just making the spread look nice instead of using it honestly. So I redid my whole tracker this week with just 3 simple prompts like 'what did I actually do today?' instead of yes/no checkboxes. Anyone else ever look back at months of trackers and realize they were basically just doodling?

My simple $1 binder clip trick for saving pen marks

Last week I realized my pens kept smudging across my journal pages because the clip was too tight. I slipped a small binder clip over the edge to hold it shut and now my ink stays clean. Has anyone else found a cheap fix like that?

Just found out how many people actually stick with bullet journaling

I read a study from a stationery brand that said only 30% of people keep using their bullet journal past 3 months. That surprised me because I've been at it for 2 years now and feel like everyone I know is still going strong. Has anyone else found a trick that helped them stick with it longer?

My favorite Leuchtturm1917 finally fell apart after 4 years

The spine cracked on page 186 last Tuesday and I had to tape it back together with packing tape, anyone else hold onto old beat up journals way longer than they should?

Found out my hand cramps were from gripping the pen too tight on rapid logging

I was watching a Ryder Carroll interview last week where he mentioned relaxing your grip and it fixed my hand pain after 4 years of bullet journaling, has anyone else had that issue?

My tracker for 'water intake' took 3 months to actually get right

I kept trying to make this super detailed water tracker with cute little bottle icons and it was a total mess. Every week I'd redesign it because I couldn't find a layout that I would actually fill in at the end of the day. Finally landed on just a simple checkmark box next to each hour (not the bottles) and it's been working for two straight weeks now. Anyone else waste a crazy amount of time overcomplicating a super basic tracker?

Tried a 1.0mm pen for my bujo and it wrecked my entire weekly spread

Switched to a super fine tip thinking it'd look cleaner, but the ink bled through six pages of my Leuchtturm and now I can't read anything on the back side of those spreads. Has anyone else had a pen unexpectedly destroy their whole notebook like this?

I finally stuck with a daily habit tracker for 4 whole weeks

I started a new bullet journal spread in August just tracking water intake and sleep. For the first time ever I actually filled in every single square for a whole month. It sounds so small but I usually quit by day 5. Has anyone else found a specific tracker that just clicked for them?

Broke my favorite pen at a library in Cincinnati and switched to all pencil spreads

I was at the main branch downtown last month working on my weekly log when my fountain pen slipped and the nib bent on the tile floor. After that I grabbed a cheap mechanical pencil from the front desk and honestly my layouts came out cleaner than ever. Has anyone else ditched pens entirely for pencil in their journal?

My whole June spread got wrecked by a leaking pen at a coffee shop in Portland

I was at Deadstock Coffee near 6th and filling in my habit tracker when my cheap gel pen just started bleeding through three pages. The ink soaked into my weekly layout and I couldn't read half my appointments for the next 7 days. I had to rip out those pages and redraw everything from memory which took like an hour and a half. Has anyone else had a favorite pen betray them mid-spread like this? What do you use that never bleeds?

Wasted $30 on a fancy journal that bleeds through everything

Bought a $30 Leuchtturm1917 notebook last month because everyone raves about them, but my Pilot G2 pens bleed right through the page. Tested it with 3 different ink colors and still get ghosting on the backside. Seriously, my $8 Amazon Basics notebook handles the same pens way better. Anyone else deal with expensive notebooks that just don't hold up?

Chat with a coworker about my habit tracker changed my mind

I was showing my bullet journal to a guy named Dave at lunch last Tuesday. He pointed at my habit tracker and said 'you track sleep and water but not your mood?' I told him I never thought about it. So I added a simple mood column last Wednesday with just smiley faces. Now I can see how my sleep connects to how I feel the next day. Has anyone else added something simple to their tracker late in the year?

Shoutout to the barista who noticed my weekly spread

A girl at my local coffee shop last Tuesday pointed at my open journal and said 'hey, your dot grid lines are actually straight this month' and that one compliment kept me going through the rest of my setup.

The day I stopped cramming 6 months into one weekly spread

I was making these super detailed weekly spreads with every single task and appointment color coded. It took me like 2 hours every Sunday night. Then last Tuesday I realized I never even looked at it after Wednesday because I was too busy actually doing stuff. What tipped me off was finding an empty page three months later with no marks on it at all. Has anyone else found a simpler layout that actually works for a chaotic schedule?

Tried a weekly spread with no habit tracker and my whole system fell apart

Honestly, I thought I could simplify my bullet journal by ditching the habit tracker for a month. By week two, I forgot to take my meds three days in a row and skipped flossing for like five days. Ngl, having those little boxes to check was the only thing keeping me on track. Did anyone else try cutting something out and immediately regret it?

My coworker told me my weekly spread was ugly and it totally ruined my groove

My coworker told me to switch to a dotted notebook and I finally see why

I was using a lined notebook for my bullet journal for over a year, and my coworker Jamie kept saying dots would make layouts easier. Last month I finally bought a dotted Leuchtturm and everything from my habit tracker to my weekly spread came out way cleaner. Has anyone else had trouble making the switch from lines to dots or is it just me?

Getting sick of those "perfect" weekly spreads that people post but clearly never use

I see these elaborate washi tape and sticker layouts that take like 2 hours to make, but there's no way they actually track tasks in them with all that clutter. My own spread last week had 3 undone grocery items because I ran out of room. Has anyone else found that simpler layouts actually get more done?